The Hero's Destiny  An Original Fanfic
by VentusXII
Summary: A Twilight Princess redux story. This beginner's work center's on Link's adventures throughout Hyrule, along with his good friend Ilia!
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

Chapter One - The Beginning -  
>That was the day that Link, representative of the Ordona Province, was supposed to take the Ordon Sword to Hyrule Castle and present it to the King of Hyrule and his daughter, Zelda, as a humble gift from a secluded province. Having never left the quiet life of Ordon Village, naturally Link was very excited. But, none of the swordsplay he could've done would have prepared him for the things to come.<p>

"Alright, time to clean up!" a voice said. The voice belonged to a slightly toned middle aged man, the village renowned swordsman, Rusl. As his voice withered onwards, one could hear the muffled groan of a young man.  
>"Uhn...w-wait, practice's over already?" another voice said. That voice belonged to the young man, Link. "We haven't even gone over the basics!" At that, Rusl gave out a wholehearted laugh. "Link, this training session is your final one for the week. You know we don't do the basics today!" Link couldn't help but laugh as well, but at his own stupidity. "Right. I guess..." Rusl rose an eyebrow of wonder. "Hmm? Somethin' on your mind?" "Yeah. I'm anxious I guess. What's Hyrule like? And the Princess-to-be-Queen?" "That's right, you haven't been outside of Ordon village before...well, Hyrule is vast. You think there's unexplored areas in this village? You'll be set aback when you just look on Hyrule Field. I don't want to spoil the sight for you, ahahaha!" Link put an impatient look on his face. "What about the Princess?" "I can't say much for her, you'll just have to see her for yourself!" "Huh...you're saying she's pretty..uhm...well, pretty?" "I'll leave that to your interpretation. I have to get back to the wife, we're expecting our first child and I can't leave her alone!" The impatient look left Link's face, instead it was replaced with a smile. "'You'll find a good looking woman some day, and when you do you'll want nothing but to be with her forever.' That's what you said, right? Hahaha." Rusl gave a sly smile that could only suggested one specific thing. "Like I said, you'll just have to see her for yourself! But don't worry, you'll do just fine! Just keep a straight face, and that's the hardest part, and you're sure to be a good rep! Hang in there, you wouldn't want the Mayor bagging on ya, would you? It's getting dark, so you're sure to be in some kind of trance. Good night!" With that Rusl laughed again, packed his things, waved goodbye and trekked back to the village. Link, on the otherhand, went back to his treehouse and started to plan for the next day.<p>

Inside, Link got his oil lantern and lighted it ever so lightly so that the light was bright enough to read but dark enough to not attract any attention. Setting it on his desk, Link pulled up a chair and started to scratch his head in deep though. "Maaan. Old boy didn't even give me her name! Now I have to think of what to wear...OH." Link turned his chair to a green treasure chest that had pure gold lined all around it. The lock, rather than a traditional keyhole, was instead a weird symbol. "Something's in here, I know it. But, just how in the hell do you open this damn chest?" Link tried picking the chest up, but it was too heavy. He tried using a family passed weapon, the legendary Megaton Hammer, but THAT didn't work either. Finally, he just punched the chest with his right hand. The treasure chest didn't seem to react. "Why won't it open?" Link yelled in the loudest 'quiet' voice he could manage, which was more of an actual yell rather than conversation-loud. He was about to get out of his chair and head back to bed, but then a bright light started to shine. It grew in intensity until Link actually had to shield his eyes - and Hylians rarely had to close their eyes due to light! Eventually, the shine started to die down, and the mark that was on Link's hand at birth was gold rather than the dull olive color it usually was. "Huh?Thatneverhappened...before...uh..what? " The chest opened! But again, inside was a light that shined so bright, Link had to cover his eyes. Once the light died down, what Link found was something he could never imagine seeing in this day and age. Something from his supposed ancestor actually existed...and it changed his life forever.

***  
>What was in the chest? None other than the Hero's Clothes, the green tunic and chainmail that the legendary Hero of Time once wore! "Oh...wait until the old man learns of THIS." Link was amazed, but also he got extremely happy because it meant that all the rumors he heard might be true! He shut the chest and blew out the lantern, heading to bed since it was pretty late.<p>

The next morning, he got the usual wakeup call from Fado and the brat kids, but rather than finding them waiting outside his door, Link found a caravan with Mayor Bo, Ilia, and Rusl waiting inside. Link was surprised enough to see that he was going to be supported on this run, but he still wanted to tell Rusl about what he found, so he beckoned to the Mayor for a few minutes wait and asked Rusl to come inside. "You have to look at THIS!" Link said, ecstatically. Raising an eyebrow, Rusl was pretty confused until he saw Link open the 'Impervious Chest for Ages" or so it was dubbed by Fado. "How in the world did you manage that?" He said to the young man, taken aback by how easy it appeared for Link to open it. "That's the awesome part! I was just messing around with stuff last night to find a 'proper' set of clothes to wear to the festival, cuz you know who might make a public appearance. I tried opening the chest with a hammer that's pretty strong, that didn't work. But I punched the chest out of rage and it just clicked open after some weird light flashed! You need to see what's inside though!" Link happily pulled out the green clothes that lay in the chest, and Rusl was in shock. "Y-you...you're one lucky...oh, wait until Bo hears about this.". Link and Rusl were both amazed at the sight, and Rusl suggested something. Link should wear those clothes to the festival, and he would be a shoein for what was to happen. Link slipped the clothes on, they fit him nicely and were quite comfortable despite chainmail being lined within the garb, and they headed out the house and into the caravan. "Mayor, we're ready! Start her up as soon as she's ready!" Ilia and the Mayor were both leading Epona onto Hyrule Field so they couldn't see Link's clothes.

Through Faron Woods out to Hyrule Field, it was a safe ride as none of the usual stuff - that is Deku Babas and the occasional rat, made an appearance to hinder the drive. The caravan stopped once they reached Hyrule Field, and the Mayor told everyone onboard to stop for a rest. "Alrighty, we'll stop here for a good re-" Bo was in shock, and as Ilia round the corner she too was shocked. Link and Rusl gave a soft chuckle, then Bo and Ilia were both making comments about how Link looked. "Father, doesn't he look so handsome? Link, where'd you get those clothes?" "Yeah, you mind tellin' us where you managed to acquire THOSE. You know what those are, right?" Link gave a confused look, but then smirked and said in a deep, historical voice "These clothes belonged to the famed Hero of Time, they are called the Hero's Clothes and are said to have been made by a race called the Kokiri. The one who has these clothes in his possession has found them in a chest bound by a keyhole that is shaped like the legendary Triforce, and the only one who can open it is the one who bears the Triforce mark on his right hand. The one who has opened the chest is a direct descendant to the Hero, and will make a hero out of himself as well and could very well marry a Princess and/or a childhood friend of his. Haha, I remember that tale from the beginning!"

Bo nodded in complete agreement, then went on to tell Link, Rusl, and Ilia to show no one but the princess Zelda herself. They returned to the caravan, and continued on the road until they reached Hyrule Castle Town's South Gate. Link dressed back up in his regular Ordanian 'special occasion' clothes, and Bo guided Epona onto the steps and inside, where there was a BUSTLING community of fruit stalls, weapon showcases, and even dancing corners. The prestigious races of the various provinces, those are the Gorons and the Hylians, were mingled together in complete harmony. Link and Ilia immediately got out of the caravan and went to the dress shop (well, technically Ilia dragged him to the dress shop), while Bo and Rusl went over to the blacksmith's corner to do some business. Bo first rubbed Epona softly, fed her some water and gave her some food, and nudged her to play in the field with the other horses, then he rejoined Rusl to the blacksmith's corner and set up shop like he does every festival. He easily attracted a multitude of customers, both old faces he remembered from back in the day, and some new ones that apparently Rusl recognized as part of the Hylian League.

Over on Link's side, he was almost tortured by Ilia's frequent "Let's buy this! Don't you just LOVE this dress?" until she brought him to a truly beautiful dress. It was a silkmade, green, rather long dress with gold lining about the midsection and around the sleeves. There was a Triforce symbol around the collar Ilia was just amazed at the sighting, and Link was shocked at how great it looked. Naturally, Ilia put on her begging face. "Liiiink..." She said in the saddest voice she could manage. Link groaned, and then looked at the price tag. '500 rupees' it read. But it would be a really special gift, and he knew exactly who he'd gift it to. "Hey, Ilia. I'll pay full price for it, you don't need to chip in." Link said in the brotherly voice he always talked to Ilia in. "What's the catch?" She asked, suspecting Link to be up to his usual schemes. "There's no catch in all, watch this!" Link took out his rupee pouch, talked to the shopkeeper a bit and then said that he wanted to buy the dress. The shopkeeper was amazed at that, because it had stayed on that rack for a long time and was said to be a gift that the Hero of Time gave to his wife. "It is? Well, that'll make an even better buy. 500 rupees, right? Here." Sure enough, Link paid all 500 rupees in full, and the dress was his. He hid all of the excitement from his face and left the building. Ilia soon left as well, but got stunned as someone grabbed her and made off to a nearby alleyway. The person let her go, and it was shown that it was none other than Link himself. "Hey, Ilia. Sorry about that..." He said, wanting her to forgive him. "You know, you could've been arrested for that. The local police force isn't like in Ordon..." She said sarcastically. "But, what did you take me here for?"  
>Link blushed a little, then handed her the dress he bought. "H-here you go. Hope you like it." he said, sort of shy. Ilia smiled and a tear started to fall from her cheek. She then gave Link a big hug, and they stayed like that for at least 2 minutes and let go from each other. "You're such a kind person, you know that?" "No I'm not. I just do what I can to help the people who are kind to me...oh shoot, the festival is about to start! Let's go find your dad right quick!"<p>

In a hurry, the two rushed through the alleyway, went back to the center of Castle Town, headed back to the south gate but on the way took a left to the blacksmith's corner and found Bo and Rusl making big money. Link was suprised, he didn't know that the two ran a business. "Hh-h...how did you two...get this all started?" he said, out of breath and ready to drop from the running. Rusl laughed, and told him the story. After that, they closed up shop as a horn blared through the streets, signaling that the Festival was about to start. Looking their best (Rusl and Bo were both in tuxedo's manufactured by a certain expensive store in the Town, Ilia and Link were dressed in the clothes they managed to find), they walked down the streets and into the castle town center where the festival began.

First, there were loads of Gorons and Hylians alike, competing in the Sumo Wrestling championships. This year, the Elders didn't make an appearance due to being brought to shame by none other than Mayor Bo himself 2 years straight. He was the reigning champion for 3 years in a row, and didn't intend to drop his title this time. Using a special trick of his (really he was just using standardized Iron Boots), he defeated all of the opposition and was awarded the Sumo Champion trophy for the fourth year, and was congratulated by the Elders for such flawless victories that he achieved. Next in the festival was music everywhere, from sad symphonies to the epic hero music. At the climax of the music, it changed to a royal tune as a blue carpet rolled down from the entrance to Hyrule Castle, where a carriage suddenly came through the double doors and the Royal Family and their aides came out of to look upon the Festival. "Hey...she might be here." Link thought to himself, remembering what Rusl said. In the midst of all the noise and dancing, Link unknowingly shoved his way past a couple people to stare at the the sight. He was disappointed, however, as it was announced by way of the Prime Minister that the Princess would not being making an appearance in this Festival due to her coronation being in but a week from now. "Damn..." Link sighed with contempt, and as he listened onto the Minister's ramblings, he started to get a feeling of hate for him as well. Time passed for a while, and it started to grow dark as the Festival ended. People were congratulated, awards handed out, money thrown out into the central Fountain, and the denizens departed for their homes. Rusl and Bo left too, giving Ilia instructions on how to get back to Ordon safely. Ilia and Link were the only two left in Hyrule Castle Town Central Square, and it was about evening time. Little did they know what was to come for them soon enough...


	2. Chapter 2: The Festival

Chapter Three  
>-<p>

Link was, or at least Ilia thought, pondering something about the sumo wrestling match that they saw Bo carry on. "Hey Link, what's up?" she asked, expecting to hear a Wow. Rather than that, Link stupidly replied "Nothing.". It was at that Nothing that Ilia realized that Link was thinking about something that had to do with the royals that made an appearance. "Hey, let's go over and rent a room in that Inn, it's starting to get dark..." she said, trying to get his attention. Link nodded and they went to a nearby Inn called the 'Stock Pot Inn'. Link snapped out of his semitrance and again paid with his money for a single room hoping for Ilia to rage at him. Oddly, she didn't mind at all. "You can arrange your room in any way you like! Feeling lucky? You could even get a poster of the Princess naked! But don't tell anyone I said that!" The desk manager handed Link the keys to room 2A and Link mentally noted "_Watch out for that guy..._".

Once inside the room, Link rearranged the room so that it was halved, Link had the side closest to the door, Ilia had the window view. "There you go, all of the expenses from food to clothes and beyond are on me." Link said, trying to get good standing with his childhood friend. "Link, you're doing too much, you're not letting me help you out!" Ilia replied, saddened a little that she couldn't do for him what he was doing for her. Link started to smile, then said "You can't spend on me Ilia, a wife doesn't spend for her husband!". Ilia instantly blushed deep red, and Link laughed boisterously as his friend continued to blush. When he was done laughing, he noticed that a tear dropped to the ground. "Uh...you okay?" he asked, sincerely concerned for her. Link walked up to Ilia and surprisingly, she whirled around and hugged him as tightly as she could manage. "Oh, I love you Link..." she said, all the while wondering what she was doing and what she had just said.

After around five minutes (it was nearly 8PM by the time they were done) of hugging, the two returned to their sides of the room. Ilia's stomach rumbled, but she decided to keep quiet so she could enjoy Link's company. At just the wrong time though, Link had asked if she was hungry. It was hard for Ilia to lie to Link, back as children they trusted each other with all the secrets they could remember, and even now they had secrets they would share and of course Link had bought that beautiful dress for her. "J-just a little bit..." She said, hoping that would make him worry less. "Well, knowing you Ilia, I wouldn't want to let you stay hungry. You ARE my best friend, after all. And a gentleman like myself...well, that wouldn't be very gentleman like, now would it?" Ilia smiled, made clear that she wasn't really hungry, and the two eventually fell asleep.

The next morning, Ilia woke up to find Link still out cold. Nudging him just a little, Ilia found herself within an inch of blatantly laying on top of Link, the idea of it made her nearly pee in her night gown. Link woke up in a flash though, remembered that they didn't rent the room for the morning, and decided upon leaving just then. No breakfast, no nothing. Just heading back to Ordon Village. As they began to pack their things, Ilia noticed on the balcony that there was some instrument blaring across the town, with a red carpet rolling across from what appeared to be the Hyrule Castle gates. "Link...look at this!" she exclaimed, realizing that the Royal Family was to make some sort of return appearance. As Link whirled around seeing what was to transpire, he spotted among the royal figures a lady who was the most beautiful lady she had ever seen. She had long, brown hair and a slender face whose radiance spoke how pure she was. He instantly recognized her as Princess Zelda, despite never seeing her before. Somehow or another, the Princess eyed him directly and she smiled a sweet smile. And likewise, Link may have fallen in love. Ilia took note of Link's somewhat dozy look, as well she took note of the woman he was looking at. After the display, they left the Inn, thanking the desk manager for his services, and headed back to Central Hyrule Castle Town, to get a better view of the event. Unfortunately, the Royal Family left, leaving Ilia and Link to do only one thing: head back home.

As they left Hyrule Castle Town, the cheer on the two's faces began to fade. However, they still felt the happiness inside, and trekked back to Ordon. Once they made it there, the most unsightly thing had happened...


End file.
